Cutting Your Groceries in Half: Freezing Your Milk

Alright Lovelies! It is question and answer time. In response to my Cutting Your Groceries in Half Post. I got pretty much the same two questions, so I thought they deserved a post. The two questions I was asked was what I did about fresh fruits and veggies and what I did about milk.

Let's address the milk question first. I have a freezer chest, which is in my kitchen. It is pretty dang big and holds our whole month of food, plus some. I usually buy 8 to 9 gallons of milk for the month. These milks I either buy at Smith's or Costco. It really juts depends on who is cheaper that particular shopping day. I put two gallons in my fridge and the rest goes into my freezer chest.

This is how we are able to have fresh milk all month long. It takes about a day for milk to unfreeze, so when we notice our milk in the fridge is running low, Hubby or I take one out of the freezer. I also do this with heavy whipping cream, half and half, and buttermilk. They all thaw out very well, just as if you just bought them from the store.

Now onto the fresh fruits and veggies questions. We do have fresh fruits and veggies all month long. We typically eat our grapes, bananas, berries, avocados, lettuce, and tomatoes in the beginning of the month.
When berries go on sale in the summer I buy them in bulk and freeze for later use in smoothies and such. Great way to save money and have berries last a whole lot longer. Fruits like apples and oranges can last all month long and are still fresh until the end of the month. This is also the same for most veggies like celery and carrots. Now I do freeze my green onions, white onions, and, green peppers for use in cooking throughout the month. This keeps them fresh and ready to add to all my favorite recipes.
I also use frozen veggies and freeze my own veggies as well. I save all left over veggies for use in crock-pot recipes and stuff.

149 comments:

I also freeze milk. You did not mention it, but for those who have never done it, it will turn a yellowish color when frozen, but once thawed it goes back white. When I first started freezing milk it grossed me out. Not anymore when you can save money!! We have been freezing milk for years. Especially when it is on sale.

I may be wrong, but I would expect it to be the opposite. The less fat content the milk has, the more water there is to freeze and expand. It's better for you to consume full-fat milk anyway, as the vitamins needed to digest the protein in milk (A, D, K, etc.) are fat-soluble and are therefore not present in skim milk.

I also freeze milk. I buy store brand organic in half gallon cartons instead of gallon jugs. It fitz into the freezer better (rectangular, so no wasted space) and the cardboard cartons have more give to them. I've been doing it for a year and haven't had one burst on me yet.

I pour some of the milk out before I freeze it. I buy 2% and it was cracking and one even ripped open. I just pour 1/2 to 1 cup out and then freeze. It works well for me. I pour the excess in a jug that we are using or just in a pitcher. Love your blog Danielle (hey that's my name too!).

I've never frozen milk before so I am wondering how long it is good for once you unfreeze it? Also can you only freeze containers of milk or can you freeze the bags that we get in Canada? Seems like a great idea though!!

Another option, that I use is buying Ultra pasteurized milk in bulk when it is on sale. I get Smart Balance plus calcium brand and buy 20 of the half gallons when it is on sale, and I additionally use a coupon on each, making it around $2 a gallon. The expiration date on these is usually 6 weeks or so... just in time for the next sale.

Ultra-pasteurized milk is not good for you. What the difference between pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized milk is that it's heated (cooked essentially) more than pasteurized. It's dead milk. That's why you can't make yogurt, kefir or any other living probiotic drink from it. They have to add synthetic (fake) nutrients to make up for it. It's like veggies.. you can't cook them for too long or you will destroy the heat sensitive nutrients and end up with a less nutritious product. Raw milk is the healthiest because it has all of it's natural vitamins and healthy bacteria (gut healthy like yogurt is) still intact. My husband is lactose intolerant but he could handle raw milk. I follow Weston A. Price Foundation's traditional nutrient dense food (based on eating healthy unprocessed, soaked, fermented, sprouted to make food easier too digest and nutrients to be increased and more bioavailable to your body) if you're interested. If you're not then please at least look up info on why ultra pasteurized milk is bad. I used to love Smart Balance (even their mayo!) but didn't realize how much junk is in their products. Don't let the name fool you. I know I did for years until I actually looked into ingredients and how they were made. Food education is a big eye opener.

Ultra-pasteurized milk is not good for you. What the difference between pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized milk is that it's heated (cooked essentially) more than pasteurized. It's dead milk. That's why you can't make yogurt, kefir or any other living probiotic drink from it. They have to add synthetic (fake) nutrients to make up for it. It's like veggies.. you can't cook them for too long or you will destroy the heat sensitive nutrients and end up with a less nutritious product. Raw milk is the healthiest because it has all of it's natural vitamins and healthy bacteria (gut healthy like yogurt is) still intact. My husband is lactose intolerant but he could handle raw milk. I follow Weston A. Price Foundation's traditional nutrient dense food (based on eating healthy unprocessed, soaked, fermented, sprouted to make food easier too digest and nutrients to be increased and more bioavailable to your body) if you're interested. If you're not then please at least look up info on why ultra pasteurized milk is bad. I used to love Smart Balance (even their mayo!) but didn't realize how much junk is in their products. Don't let the name fool you. I know I did for years until I actually looked into ingredients and how they were made. Food education is a big eye opener.

Smart Balance is a gimmick. I loved their mayo too. I no longer spend the little money we have on that. If you look into the ingredients and food processes. Ultra pasteurized milk is milk that is essentially cooked. It's heat sensitive nutrients are destroyed and so they have to add it back in like vitamin D (may be under a different name like Palmitate D3 or something.. and could say "enriched" or (fill in the blank) added. That's why using ultra pasteurized milk isn't recommended when making kefir or yogurt. There's nothing left. Like overcooked veggies. Just their butte alone : http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/there-is-nothing-smart-about-smart-balance/ http://thetableofpromise.blogspot.com/2011/04/smart-balancemilk.html It's insanely processed. Coupon or not.. there's a saying.. do you want to pay for good food now or the doctor later. My husband has been lactose intolerant for his whole life but found he can handle raw milk, as did people for thousands of years (which still has it's gut healthy bacteria and heat sensitive nutrients intact). I follow WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation - traditionally prepared food ancient wisdom in regards to making nutrients bioavailable and easier to digest by fermenting, soaking and sprouting when I can) as much as I can.. but if you don't want to know more about that then please at least look into why if you still choose to get pasteurized milk.. then consider looking up why pasteurized and not ultra pasteurized is the best choice out of those two.

I'm so glad I found this post after I read your post "How Does She..." about your budget. Thanks so much!! We don't buy as much milk as you, but we'd still need to freeze a couple gallons to make it through the end of the month. Thanks so much!

I am currently obsessed with HOW DOES SHE you are amazing and I look forward to saving lots of money by incorporating your tips. Thank you so much for sharing with the world. I wanted to share a tip with you on how to make your bananas last the whole month. In our household, I buy about 20 bananas when they are on sale, and as they start to freckle, I peel them, cut them into thirds and freeze them. They are awesome in smoothies AND you don't have to use icecubes!!!

I just canned my first ever set of jelly and it was SO easy! Id suggest Ball's "Complete book of Home Preserving". They make it pretty much idiot proof for the beginners (which I am). 4 pounds of strawberries made 9 jars of strawberry jam and 4 pounds of peaches made 8. I still have grape and apple to do.

This may be a silly question, but I drink soy, coconut, or almond milk. Do you think they would freeze the same as cow's milk? They are all different substances, but I would think it would be a similar process.

What are your thoughts ladies? Can nut milks be frozen the same as animal milks?

Not silly at all. I don't know why you couldn't. I would try it. I bet it would work just fine. I think I am going to try sour cream to and see how that goes. I would think since I do yogurt and cream cheese, sour cream would thaw perfectly as well.

I was told long ago that if your milk freezes and then you drink it you will get diarrhea? So when I saw that you do freeze your milk and obviously no one is getting sick in your family that must not be true!

I would try it. We use 2% and it works just fine and yes I freeze our yogurt in the same container it come sin. Thaws great! I haven't tried sour cream, but a friend of mine did. She said it thawed great also!

Our family always used skim milk when freezing but once bought 2% in error. After the 2% thawed we had white bits floating around which I assumed to be due to the higher fat content. We just shook it hard and used it as usual. Some folks are picky about the way milk looks; we always ate it on cereal and didn't care ;) When I first read milk could be frozen, that article suggested pouring out a bit which I always did, just in case the jug cracked. We also freeze American cheese, cheddar and mozzarella (all purchased in 5 lb. portions at Sams) and have great success. Just let it thaw in the fridge!

I buy M&M yogurt for my kids for something for breakfast. They love it but it gets kind of expensive. Is it okay to freeze the little 4 packs of cups of M&M yogurt? I would love to buy a bunch when they are on sale. How long do they last after thawing?

Powdered milk is no longer the big saver it once was. However, I always keep it on hand for cooking. It pretty much lasts forever and I'm not using that precious liquid gold from my frige. My boys are not happy when we run out of milk!

Hi, I am interested in getting a deep freeze, and my hubby was saying that they work best when full. How many cubic feet is your freezer, my family is the same size and we go through the same amount of milk as you guys. I am really interested in once a month grocery shopping! Jillian imwoozy@msn.com

We have a GE model and it is 7 cubic feet. It works great for our family of four and yes they are more effeicent when fully stocked, but at the end of each month ours gets pretty low. I store everything in there except bread. The bread goes into the top part of our fridge (the freezer part)

The freezer does work better when full. I used to have a huge chest freezer & to keep it full, I would fill it with everything freezable...cheeses, lunch meats, cereal, bread (I double bag them so they don't get freezer burn), chips, crackers, etc., so many things can be frozen. I also measure things before freezing (ie: Buttermilk...I only use this in a few recipes & never use all of it so I freeze it by the tablespoon in an ice cube tray or use dixie cups to freeze by 1/2 cup, once frozen, pop out of what they were frozen in & place in a freezer storage bag).

On freezer efficiency and keeping it full... Wash out and save old milk jugs (or any plastic bottle/container) and fill 3/4 full with water. Use them to fill the empty space. It's multipurpose too... if you lose power the frozen water bottles will help keep the freezer cold, also you can put one in a cooler for grocery shopping if getting cold stuff, and when wrapped in a towel they make great car seat coolers when you go into a store... just set one in the car seat when you get out of the car and it's much nicer to get back into when you get back to the car. This is especially good for children's car seats.

Someone mentioned freezing lunch meat. Our kids like Cajun turkey and Black Forest Ham but we noticed when we freeze these, they are watery and lose some of their flavor. Does anyone have any solutions for this? Love the freezing milk idea. We are not big milk drinkers and I throw a lot away because I feel I have to have a little in the frig and it goes out of date before we use it.

When we thaw it out we drink it right away. We have never had our milk go bad. I only buy what we will drink for the month, so it never goes bad. It is just like the frozen veggies and frozen juices you buy in the store. Same idea.

First off, great job! Your tips are amazing and inspire me to get saving $$$! Anyways, I was wondering how you freeze the dairy like yogurt, cream cheese, etc. Do you portion it out or no? And for some reason, the one time I froze cream cheese it thawed with a crumbly texture. Any advice?

Defrosting dairy in the refridgerater instead of on the counter works best. A slower, more gentle thaw on anything containing fat is best. This should keep the texture the same/similar to its pre-frozen state.

When defrosting anything containing fat, like cream or cheese, it is best to do so in the refrigerator rather than on the counter. The slower, more gentle thawing will help keep the texture the same, or similar, to that of its pre-frozen state. If bricks of cheese, for example, are thawed at room temperature, they will become very crumbly upon slicing but will slice like normal if defrosted in the fridge.

I buy big containers of yogurt and freeze in ice trays the place in freezer bags and use in smoothies instead of ice. I do the same for fresh spinach, just purée place in ice trays put in freezer bags and use in smoothies.

I have started to freeze our milk as well. Another way I'm stretching our milk is by buying whole milk. You can dilute it with water to the consistency of 2%. I take one of my gallon pitchers and fill it half way with milk and then the other half with water. Now I get 2 gallons out of 1 gallon and it tastes like 2% milk.

I worked at a dairy and was in quality control so I know all about milk. :) This is a great idea and i am sure it tastes the same but just know that the calcium/calories/protien/and vitamins are only half of what you are thinking. The bottler adds vitamins to your milk (like a&d).

Your tips are wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing. I have started freezing our milk and another tip that I've incorporated is buying whole milk and then diluting it with water. By using a 50/50 ratio milk to water you get the taste of 2%. My family is loving it and I'm loving turning 1 gallon of milk into 2 gallons!

Good morning! :) I have read that milk changes consistency when thawed out and I wondered if you've had that issue. My son notices when the consistency of something is not the same and won't drink it if it tastes any different.

I have a silly question. By freezing the milk, does that extend the shelf life of it? I know this probably seems like a "duh" question, but if the milk says it expires August 12, if I freeze it, will it still be good if I thaw it out on August 31?

Say i buy milk nov 1. It expires november 20th. So i have 20 days to drink it. If i freeze it november first, then thaw it out on december 1, i still have 20 days to drink that milk before it goes bad. Although i always drink it faster, usually within 1 week. This is how ive always understood it anyways. But yes if u freeze it before its expiration date, and thaw it out after, it is still good. Thats the whole point of freeziing it. :)

If you buy milk that will expire in 2 days and freeze it immediately when you get home, you only should use it for 2 days after defrosted. If I buy a short dated item, like meat or cheese, I use a sharpie to write the date I froze it so I can easily tell how long it is good for after defrosting. Freezing does not add shelf life to a food, it just pauses it:)

I freeze yogurt all the time. I freeze the individual cups as they are, and the bigger yogurt containers (Like plain yogurt) I put in ice cube trays, freeze them, and then put in plastic bags. It works great!

I asked my dad about it and he said that when he froze milk before, it would kinda separate. Has anyone else had this problem? And is it a problem? I used to drink whole milk (and the rest of my family still does), but I have become somewhat intolerant to anything but skim milk. Is there a difference between freezing the three different "grades" of milk?

I've frozen skim milk, 2% and whole. I just let it thaw completely in the refrigerator (takes about a day or 2), and then I just shake it up really well before pouring. Neither my girls nor I can tell any difference.

Worked in quality control at a dairy where they bottled the milk. When you freeze milk and then let it sit to thaw it will seperate (the butterfat and water that is naturally in the milk) all you have to do is shake well and it will get mixed together!

Oops! Forgot to leave my email. It's steampunkd@ymail.com! Thanks for the advice! My dad and I both get paid at the beginning of the month (his vet benefits) and so we have been getting groceries per month for a while! But this helps a lot! Thanks again!

I was so excited to see this!!! My son drinks milk like its water (he's 2 so we push milk over juice and NO cokes). Every other week our Kroger has milk for $2.99 a gallon (it's usually $4+) but our fridge will only hold 4 gallons. Those 4 are gone in a week!! So good to know I can buy twice as many and freeze half. Thanks so much!!

You might be careful on letting your 2 yr old drink so much milk. It can cause anemia if they have too much of it, and it can cause constipation. I know this because we ran into this with my own 2 year old. Water is a much much better option than juice, but milk should be limited to 20 oz a day.

Thanks for all of your great tips! I've tried freezing milk. I bought about 8 to start and I put the date of when I bought the milk on the lid with a marker, so that when I thawed it I would know how long until the "new" expiration date. I hope that is okay. HOWEVER... we've had 3 leak! Have you seriously never had one burst? Why have I had 3? It's been sad! Any tips? Am I the only one? They all bust out under the handle on the jug side. So, we wash the stock boy germs off the jug and put it in a big bowl to finish thawing, so that we can collect the leaked milk from the bowl too. Still, it seems kinda gross, doesn't it? It has been a pain. We have two more gallons in the freezer. :(

Milk is mostly water, so it will expand as it freezes. Whether it leaks or not depends upon the strength of the seams and how much the plastic jug can expand -- some of them have "innie" panels which can expand out. It's always best to pour a bit out so that there is room for expansion.

Now that is a great tip! I've had my milk leak/explode too. I'll try that open lid idea. For those of you with a Safeway around, if you sign up for their "Just for U" coupons (both digital and printable), you can usually get milk each week for about $1.67 a gallon.

instead of freezing green onions put them in a glass of water in a window and just cut what u need for each meal and replace the root in the water they will last almost forever just rinse the roots off every once and a while and give them new water

It works great, I have some in a small glass right now! They've been there for a couple weeks now and I just keep trimming them down and replacing the water as needed. You will get some ends that dry out but do not peel them down to the root though because your onions get smaller and smaller, just trim the off.

I do this too! They just keep growing and growing. :) I've also thrown some garlic cloves (we get that huge 2 lb bag from Sam's) into a jar of water and grown them successfully. When they grow tall enough, I put them in the ground. Right now I have the base of lettuce growing this way. :) I talked a little about that on my blog. :)

I work at Walmart in north Carolina . And I meet this woman who was telling me she only shops once a month an she was buying 3 of everything like mayo mustard ketchup everything . And I asked her about her meats she' said she had a ziplock brand foot sealer that was hand pumped she said she buys her meats opens them when she gets home and ziplock them and the jeep forMoths . Do u do this ? My husband is a meat loving kinda guy he only eats meat . So I need to be able to keep my meats longer . Do u do any thing special to ur meats ?? An have u ever tryed sealin it ?

I buy my meat in bulk from the local butcher, then I measure and portion it out and freeze it. I do the ground beef like this http://unsophisticook.com/freeze-ground-meat-easily/ <-random picture I just found, and and steaks/chops/or chicken I freeze individually on a cookie sheet then put into freezer bags later so they do not have to be all thawed at once.I don't know that using the ziplock thing will work too well since the meat juice can get sucked into the hand pump, but maybe you can save up and eventually buy one of the electric food sealers.

we buy meat and just put it in ziplock baggies and hand squeeze the air out of them. It doesnt take much time and i have had meat last for months in the freezer like that. I buy meats when they are on sale, portion them out into meals and freeze them, it only takes a few minutes and it saves money.

If you wrap the meat in freezer paper it will last longer and it won't get frost. Just wrap it up and tape it with (we use masking tape) tape and label it. Honestly it will last better than with freezer bags.

When we find a good price on milk I like to stock up by storing it in the freezer. Do you have to drain off the milk or do you usually stick them in there without opening them? I've always drained a little off the top but I've wanted to try leaving the whole thing in there...I'm just afraid it might explode or do something funky like that.

For the use by dates say your milk is purchased on the 10th and the expiration date is the 22nd count out the days difference in this case it's 12.Mark lid use within 12 days of thawing.So if you open it the next month on the 1st note on lid or jug use by the 12th.I do this for my MIL when I cook dinner for us and then freeze the leftovers for her.If I freeze night made I know they will be good for 3 days after thawing.I do frozen meat the same way just in case I can't cook it the day I thawed it out for I know I have __ many days left to safely use it.

Thanks for the tips. My daughter is lactose intolerant and can only tolerate soymilk. I was just wondering if you had any ideas on how to save money with this type of milk. My email is ava.jaye@yahoo.com

We dont drink alot of milk so i was thinking of buying 2 and freezing 1. Being that its frozen if i pass the expiration date is it good still? Will we have to use it quick if the experation date is approaching?

I'm pretty sure it will as long as you don't microwave it as a thawing method...kind of like with breastmilk - you're never supposed to microwave it to thaw/warm it up bc that makes it lose its nutritional value.

Love your blog!!! I have been reading the blog and then reading all the comments, several are just repeats. No questions at this time that have not already been attacked several times over. lol. Keep up the blogging please!!!

Oh, now I did think of something. When freezing cantaloupe...Cube it and freeze on sheet and then bag or just chunk straight into the bag?? Does it thaw crisp or mushy? My husband won't drink milk, and he likes his fresh fruit just with a bowl and a fork. Thanx!!!! giftofgabsave@hotmail.com

I'm just looking to start my budget living for my fiance and I. I'm really eager to practice some of your tips, but I know it's going to take a while to find my groove. What I'd like to know is how do you keep your frozen fruits/veggies from getting slimy when they thaw?

I keep a paper towel in my lunch meat both when I thaw it as well as when I don't. It seems to absorb the extra moisture and my meat never becomes slimy. I change the paper towel as it beomes saturated.

I shop for the whole month, and we freeze our milk too. We usually thaw it out by filling the sink up with hot water a couple of times and putting the jug in the water to thaw. It may still be a little frozen after that, but we put it in the fridge to finish thawing. By the time we are ready to use it, it's thawed out. I always make sure I shake it up real good because it seems to separate when if first gets thawed.

The hardest thing for me as an individual, wife, and mother is eating more fruits and veggies. I am a VERY picky eater, but have gotten better as I've gotten older; I have become more willing to try new foods or eat small quantities of food (like veggies) that are good for me even though I don't "love" it. I actually don't mind eating salads, for example, on occasion. Our year old lil man (aka the monkey) is a great little eater. He loves food and eats just about anything you give him. My hubby is the "challenge." He claims that he will eat anything (including the stuff he doesn't like), but, for example, on the rare occasion that I buy lettuce for us to have salads be complains about the fact that he is not a rabbit and needs meat! (lol) I want to become a better eater, so that my son and future children don't (hopefully) wind up as picky eaters like me.

Another option is to make nut or seed milk. You can search on youtube homemade nut or seed milk and there are hundreds of videos on how to make it. Not only can you make it yourself, but it is healthier than cows milk.

Love this blog! Read the 50,000 comments about milk expanding in the freezer, read the one comment asking what to do in the paper bottle scenario, sadly there has only been one response....hoping to hear from anyone who has done this? We buy organic Horizon Milk, when it's on sale, (the paper cartons....1/2 GAL ea) and would like to know if anyone else out there has frozen milk in paper cartons. If so, what are the "tried and true" methods you recommend?

I am so glad I found this. I did not know milk could be frozen. I have several soup recipes that contain milk, heavy cream or half & half and have been nervous about freezing the leftovers. Now I know it can be done. Thanks for sharing your tips with us.

Here's a tip for keeping apples juicy and fresh for several weeks: Put several apples in a plastic bag and add just enough water for the apples to have puddles under them. shut the bag and keep in the fridge. Works great for those apple sale weeks!

hospitals use frozen breast milk ..guess it is good enough for the tiniest so frozen milk for us is fine. I have done milk freezing for years. we used to freeze it on porch in winter as we would be snowed in and this way we did not run out of milk. Used car in summer for food dehydrator too, hot windows with trays set in there on the dash area. necessity -mother of invention. Canned deer meat too and it was like corned beef.That was many years ago.

My sister told me there is recipe to can butter. After you drink the milk use the washed and dried jug to store beans, wheat ,rice, grains and sugar and cereals.. They work great and easy to write on with permanent marker. We use a funnel made out of thin cardboard to make it fast. Stack them under beds or closets for food storage. You can freeze eggs too if you scramble them a bit (raw) and pour into baggie. Or ice cube trays then into bags. love your blog.

Someone might have already addressed this - but I have to admit I'm too lazy to scroll through all the comments.........what if you use almond or soy milk, which come in the paper containers? Can those just go right into the freezer as such?

I haven't frozen almond milk, but my daughter and I (the only two in the house who really use milk) have started drinking it instead of regular milk.

I always try to buy it when it's on sale and I have coupons, but the way I look at it is that it lasts SO much longer than regular milk that it actually ends up being cheaper in the long run.

We don't go through a whole lot of milk, and I know that it won't go bad before we use it - therefore, no sour, unused milk being poured down the sink! :)

I also use evaporated milk a lot when I cook. I stock up with coupons and good sales around Thanksgiving/Christmas time, and it'll usually last me a year or so. Another option is powdered milk. Mix it up as you need it.

I guess I should do this on the veggie page, but I'm lazy. I was thinking about the spinach. You should totally freeze spinach if you get it on sale. My DH gets annoys bc sometimes I just throw it right in the freezer. It's great for cooking with. I add it to eggs in the morning or into casseroles or spaghetti, whatever. I just made southwest eggrolls with fresh then frozen spinach...so good. You can just throw the bags in the freezer and they are perfect for green smoothies...Kale is the same way. :-) cadams627@gmail.com

Talking about freezing veggies to use through out the month, just wondered if you've ever tried keeping a "veggie trash bag" in your freezer for scraps like onion skins, veggie skins etc. then when you have enough saved up, put in a large stock pot and cover with water and cook to extract the flavors for home made veggie broth for soups and recipes. I've been doing this for several years now and it helps to save money by getting more out of your produce and saving you from buying broth for soups and such. Just a thought.